She Shall, From Time To Time: Welcome To Wherever You're Going
by araviis
Summary: Donna faces the future.


_**cross-posting my existing work from ao3.**_

It was just another in a long string of networking functions, and Donna shouldn't have felt so exhausted. But if she heard one more " _Darling_ , you must tell me _everything_ about the wedding, it was so _dreadful_ of you two to sneak away like that!" she thought she'd explode.

She waved off Congresswoman Abbott, who, thank God, had actually wanted to talk to her about the First Lady's outdoor activity initiative, and turned to catch a glance at Josh. He was doing exactly what he should be, schmoozing the Majority Whip, and, she suspected by the relaxed look on his face, successfully bringing him around to their side on the Kazakhstan withdrawal strategy. He caught her eye, for a second, and winked at her. She smiled back, a little weakly, and then saw Senator Parker making his way towards her, and made her escape.

She hid behind Annabeth, who was about as effective as a lamp, but in the bustle of the party she managed to slip away before Parker caught up with her. In the hallway, she rested her back straight against the wall and took long, calming breaths.

"Donna?"

She nearly leapt out of her skin, then settled, and glared at Josh.

"Are you okay?"

"What are you doing out here? Go talk to Allen, we need him," she hissed, getting up and starting to push him back towards the door.

"It's okay, Sam's got him in hand," Josh said, turning to take her gently by the hands. "I saw you run out. Is something wrong?"

"No," she said firmly. "It's okay, I just needed a breather. Go back to the Whip."

"Sam's taking care of it. Listen-"

They both jumped when a door opened down the hall, relaxing a fraction when it proved to be a Secret Service agent.

Josh looked at her, and squeezed her hand. "Do you want to take a walk?"

She really wanted to be alone, but Josh seemed so earnest, and he'd left an imperative task of his own to Sam so he could come out and be with her, and _fine_ , she still felt a little giddy whenever she felt the pinch of the ring on his finger against her palm. So she smiled at him, and followed him away from the party.

"So who were you hiding from?"

"I wasn't hiding," she huffed.

"You forget who taught you that move," he teased.

"I think you'd have even less luck ducking behind Annabeth than I did," she snapped. He quirked an eyebrow at her, and she sighed. "Fine. Senator Parker keeps trying to talk to me."

"Parker's looking for a Chief of Staff," Josh observed neutrally.

"Thus," Donna informed him, "the hiding."

"I don't understand. You love Parker."

"Right, so you see my problem."

"I really don't."

"He's going to be Governor when O'Connor retires."

"Yes."

"I don't know how to run a state, Josh!"

"Well, yeah, neither does he. That's why you go in together."

"That makes no sense."

"Okay," he said in that tone that meant he wasn't granting her premise. "What would you do?"

She tugged him into the nearest office - Lou's - and sat down on the desk. "Parker needs someone with experience to position him. Wisconsin leans Republican, and Congressman Warren is already gearing up to run against him. Parker's going to win, but then he needs to prove his worth and he needs more expertise than I can offer."

Josh sat beside her. "You just proved you have it. Hey, whatever you want to do, I support you, but don't start thinking like you can't do it, because you can. I think Parker's absolutely right to seek you out. Tell me you don't want to run the office of the Governor of Wisconsin, and I'll drop it right now - but I know you, and I think you do want it."

"I'm drawn to the idea," she admitted. "And I do want to go farther. But, Josh, I've barely finished college, I don't have real experience. In the First Lady's office I work on family issues, health, education, protection. I'd be out of my depth."

"You wouldn't. If I didn't think you were ready I swear I'd tell you, but I think you are. You're undervaluing the work you've already done. In the Bartlet White House you knew as much about what happened in my office as I did, and now you're making change on a national level - you're _already_ doing it. And when the time comes for you to run for office-"

"Josh…"

"When the time comes," he plowed ahead, "you'll have all the extra knowledge and experience this opportunity can give you."

"What if I really can't do it? What if I fail?"

"You won't."

"But just say I do."

"Then," Josh said, sincerely, wriggling on the desk to look her in the eye, "we deal with it together. We figure out what went wrong and we make plans for how to avoid it."

"And you'll be with me?"

"Every step of the way."

She reached for him then, and he pulled her in for a brief, tender kiss. After a moment of indulgence, Donna pulled away.

"I guess I have a Senator to track down," she said.


End file.
